The effect of feeding brassica vegetables and intact glucosinolates on mixed-function-oxidase activity in the livers and intestines of rats.

Significant induction of mixed-function-oxidase (MFO) activity was observed in the small intestines of rats within 4-6 hr of ingestion of a single meal containing a Brassica vegetable (cabbage). Intact Brussels sprouts and a fractionated methanol-water extract of Brussels sprouts induced similar degrees of MFO activity in the livers, and small and large intestines of rats. However, the residue left after extraction of the polar compounds did not induce MFO activity. Different amounts of the various naturally-occurring thioglycosides and glucosinolates were found in the intact Brussels sprouts and in the extract, but virtually none were found in the extracted residue. When glucusinolates that were found in Brussels sprouts (sinigrin, progoitrin, glucobrassicin and glucotropaeolin) were fed separately to rats, only the indole glucosinolate, glucobrassicin, induced MFO activity (causing induction in the small intestines of the rats). This is consistent with the inducing activity of the various hydrolysis products of this glucosinolate. This is the first study in which an attempt has been made to define the inducing compounds in Brassica vegetables by feeding the individual purified glucosinolates.